Heaven Isn't Always Pure Happiness
Before I knew it, a woman had slipped up behind me and thrust her face right in front of mine.
Without exaggeration — literally right under my nose.
She was so close I could have counted every individual lash on her long eyelashes. Her warm breath spilled down across my cheek. Meeting those dark-blue eyes, I almost felt as though I were gazing into a lake so deep its bottom was nowhere in sight.
I shifted slightly without thinking, our noses brushed, and I took a step back — and her face came fully into view.
Platinum-blonde hair that shone as if the sun itself had been melted into it cascaded to her waist, rippling like silk. Her skin was white as polished jade, and the captivating red lips set against it curved in a smile. She was a little taller than me, so she must have been leaning forward slightly, bending at the waist to meet my eye level. She was wearing the same uniform as mine, yet somehow hers looked a touch more luxurious.
She was beautiful — that much was certain.
That was certain… but there was a slight problem.
This woman, just like Tania, reeked of danger.
She stared at me for a moment, then her eyes curved prettily as she smiled.
"It's been a while, Elysia."
Who are you, smiling so prettily at me?
Without moving her head, she merely flicked her eyes toward Tania, who was still holding my hand, then spoke to me with a hint of mockery in her voice.
"Elysia, I told you not to get too close to Tania. And yet here you are, stuck to her side on the very first day of school?"
At that oddly snide tone, Tania stepped forward with a low growl.
"You're the one who needs to stay away from Eli, Adele."
With that, she gave the hand she was holding a sharp tug toward herself. Tania clearly never skimped on self-care — her strength was considerable, and my body was yanked straight into her embrace.
Ah — my heart just fluttered a little.
Two beautiful women are fighting over me.
This place really is heaven!
"Mmm…"
I came to realize that just because something is heaven doesn't mean you're always happy.
"What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?"
When I let out a small groan, Adele — sitting beside me with her arm draped over the back of my chair — asked.
"I'm fi—"
"Don't talk to Eli."
And Tania, sitting on my other side, pulled me firmly toward herself. As a result, I sank right into her arms, and a large, soft sensation pressed against my back.
I take back what I just said.
Heaven is a happy place after all. Yes… this is heaven right here.
I closed my eyes and savored the sensation against my back with everything I had — then suddenly felt a gaze on me and opened my eyes again. I met Adele's eyes. She was resting her chin on her hand, watching me intently, completely unbothered by Tania's words.
Mmm, this is a little overwhelming.
See? Even the other people are uncomfortable. As proof, there were plenty of empty seats around us, yet no one sat down — they all chose to stand, deliberately looking anywhere else.
Even if you two are beautiful, giving me this much excessive attention in a public place is a little…
Amazing…
Honestly, I was enjoying it so much I was about to hyperventilate.
I didn't know why they were showing me this kind of interest, or what Elysia's usual relationship with them had been like… but from the excessive consideration I could feel in every little thing they did, it was clear both of them felt favorably toward me.
Having the two of them spar over me is a bit exhausting, though.
Still, all's well that ends well, right?
Neither of them had major roles or appeared as villains in How to Become a Hero, so there didn't seem to be much to worry about. It was a little sad that other people wouldn't approach us, though.
Caught between Adele, who kept tossing casual remarks my way, and Tania, who growled at her for it, I sat there trembling like a soaked kitten.
Screech.
Apparently we'd already arrived — the bus came to a stop, and the standing students poured out in a rush.
Ah… since it was the first day, I'd planned to look at the scenery outside the bus… The Academy was a school city in the middle of an island, and the views on the way in were famous for being spectacular. Of course, I'd been sandwiched between two pretty girls the whole time, so I hadn't seen a thing…
Still… I was happy…
Even now, if I closed my eyes, the soft sensation against my back still felt vividly present. I'd have to commute every day anyway, so there'd be other chances to see the view.
Still, I kept glancing back out of lingering regret, and Tania — who was still holding my hand — urged me on.
"Eli. Aren't you coming? Are you tired? Should we rest a bit first?"
Isn't that a little overprotective…?
Just how does she see me?
I stared at Tania, and she squirmed for a moment before sliding herself around my arm. She linked arms with me so naturally that the full, soft sensation I'd felt against my back earlier now pressed bare and unmistakable against my arm.
Oh… ohhh…
I marveled at the sensation inwardly, but part of me was also worried. If she went around doing this with just anyone, it'd be a disaster… With that striking appearance of hers, if she did this to just anyone, she'd definitely shake a lot of hearts… Of course, I didn't think there was any chance Tania would do this with a man outside her circle.
Is this kind of physical closeness natural between girls?
I'd never been a girl before, so I wouldn't know. Come to think of it, girls did often walk around arm-in-arm with their friends. Though it never looked quite this close… But watching something and experiencing it yourself are completely different, aren't they?
Seeing how naturally Tania clung to me, this must just be normal behavior. So I shouldn't push her away — I should just accept it. They must have always stuck this close together.
…I was absolutely not doing this just because I liked it.
Really.
How to Become a Hero featured a wide variety of organizations.
Among the organizations that exerted a positive influence on the world, the Association and the guilds were the most representative. The Association's fundamental role was to regulate Awakeners and establish Academies to educate them — from the basic curriculum they needed to learn, to how to handle their individual abilities, to how to respond when encountering villains.
Awakeners who graduated from the Academy then faced a choice: whether to join the Association and handle various administrative duties, or join a guild of their choice and take on the work of suppressing villains. Simply put, the Association was largely composed of office workers, while the guilds were the opposite — mostly combat-oriented Awakeners.
Of course, that didn't mean guilds were entirely clean… but to maintain the name of a guild, they didn't openly defy the Association's policies.
And the villain organizations they had to fight… were literally countless.
If you stopped a random person on the street and asked them to name the most famous villain groups, two would come up more than any others.
The Shamash Family and the Mors Family.
These two families held considerable standing not just in our country, but worldwide. They were that numerous, and that powerful.
So why did the nation leave such dangerous elements alone instead of dealing with them?
The reasons were simple.
First, they never crossed the lines that absolutely must not be crossed. Of course, that didn't mean they truly never crossed them — only that they appeared not to on the surface. Behind the scenes they were surely up to all sorts of underhanded schemes, but without evidence, the guilds couldn't move against them.
The second reason was even simpler.
They simply lacked the power to do anything about either of them in the first place.
The Shamash and Mors had grown excessively massive in influence. It was only thanks to the three major guilds maintaining some balance that things held together — if that balance collapsed and war broke out, the entire nation would fall into chaos. If the Shamash Family and Mors Family ever joined forces and other villain organizations fell under their banner, even a united front of the guilds couldn't guarantee victory.
So why am I suddenly talking about all this?
Ugh…
My brow furrowed in the compact mirror I'd brought along.
Ah, I shouldn't frown. Sure, even a frowning, unhappy-looking me had its own kind of charm, but I didn't want wrinkles. I pressed my index finger against my brow and smoothed it out.
I knew they were dangerous kids…
But they'd been acting so familiar that I'd momentarily forgotten.
Tania, sitting beside me, was fiddling with my hand with her gloved fingers. The beloved youngest child of the Shamash Family's boss.
And Adele, who kept tossing remarks my way now and then, was the second daughter of the Lucia Family — one of the three major guilds. Lucia was technically a guild, but in How to Become a Hero, its treatment fell somewhere between a guild and a family. Adele herself, as the second daughter, bore no responsibility for that — but it meant the Lucia Guild was corrupt to the core.
Surrounded by kids like these, it was no wonder other students wouldn't approach. Their notoriety had probably spread throughout the Academy back in their first year.
Just how had Elysia ended up becoming friends with these two, who were closer to objects of awe than mere fear?
It must be… because of this face, right?
They say a beautiful person's appearance is a powerful weapon. Well… with looks like these, even people like Tania and Adele would get curious. And of course they would — I was this pretty, after all. If I were them, and someone this beautiful was right in front of me, I'd probably thrash around just trying to strike up a conversation. But the pretty person was me, so I couldn't talk to myself — and that was a shame.
Does talking to yourself count as starting a conversation?
If it did, then I'd been having conversations pretty often.
I put the compact mirror back in my pocket and was spacing out when Tania gently spoke up.
"Eli… what are you thinking about?"
Ah… if you ask me with that shy expression, even I get embarrassed…!
Honestly, whether it was the Shamash Family or the Lucia Family, I didn't really care — she was just cute. After all, a kid fidgeting beside me and shyly starting a conversation being the daughter of a mafia boss just didn't feel real.
So I decided to just thoroughly dote on the cute girl right in front of me.